Malky Mackay has called for VAR talks, featuring Celtic, after more recent controversy.
The Ross County manager wasn’t happy after decisions went against his side in their League Cup loss to Aberdeen on Wednesday night. At around the same time, Rangers scored a very questionable opener against Livingston.
With Celtic surprisingly out of the competition already, these midweek moments may have passed you by a little. But it does seem like the standard of officiating is firmly back on the Scottish football agenda.
Mackay wants some clear-the-air talks, and he thinks all top-flight clubs including Celtic should be at the table.
“I think we could have conversations as a whole, to the 12 managers in the Scottish Premiership with the leaders of the SPFL and our refereeing association,” he said, as reported by the Daily Record.
“I think we should have a general conversation about the season and the season has just gone. Where everybody feels that situations can change and we can do better as a whole.
“I am not talking about us being critical of referees. I am talking about us all having conversations so they get their bugbears out and we can do the same thing.
“I am not criticising them [referees]. I am talking about their thoughts on managers and our behaviours and how we can change and where we can speak to them where we feel rules haven’t been applied in a certain way.”
After some incredibly harsh calls last season, Celtic haven’t seemed to be affected quite as badly by referees since Brendan Rodgers returned to the club.
We should have had a late penalty in our cup loss to Kilmarnock, but that’s the only major grievance that comes to my mind right now. The goal Rangers had disallowed against us in the recent derby was the most high-profile call, but it was clearly a foul on Gustaf Lagerbielke.
So, from a Celtic perspective, it’s a little surprising to hear Mackay talking about the need for a meeting featuring every club and the SFA. Things certainly don’t seem to be any worse than last year, and there wasn’t much sympathy for Celtic at that stage.
Regardless, more communication can hardly be a bad thing. It will be interesting to see if anything comes from Mackay’s comments.
In other news, Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers makes Motherwell pitch point after Livingston pain
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
